Putting into practice what I learned in Kurdistan and making tea for a friend.

                                    

Abby came over for Kurdish tea!!  This was my first time serving Kurdish tea since being home.  

We also tried some of the additions that Kurds add to their tea…rock sugar sticks with saffron, boiled sugar, Ceylon cinnamon, saffron, and a rose bud.

I boiled water in both kettles.  In the smaller kettle I added 3 spoon full of the black cardamom tea.  I steeped for 5 minutes. 

         

When in Kurdistan I was invited to a Kurdish home for dinner and to learn to make tea.  Then they actually gave me the tea that they use to make their tea.

They take these two kinds of tea and mix them together.  My understanding is that it is common for people to blend their own tea.  My friend over there says she does the same thing.  The base of the tea is always a black tea with cardamom though. 

They call tea Chai over there.  When you order tea, you say Chai.

                

It was so fun to use the new tea, tea pots, and teacups.

 We did 6 cups hahahaha, surprisingly I was not up all night. 😂☕️😂

For the first 4 cups we filled the tulip cups 3/4 full of the tea concentrate and then hot water in the remaining 1/4 cup.

Chai wanted to be close, but not too close.  She settled in on the papasan and watched from a distance.

I loved the date cookies I brought back with me.  I was not able to find the exact ones, but I found some that were close on Amazon.  Abby and I taste tested them.

I also brought back a package of dates, but I have not opened those yet.  That is what is pictured in the upper right.

I liked that they both come individually wrapped.  Keeps them fresher longer and easy to share.

AUTHENTIC MAAMOUL COOKIES: A Lebanese favorite savored by foodies around the world, Baraka maamoul cookies are sweet Middle Eastern cookies made from Dates, Wheat Flour, Unsalted Butter (Cow Milk), Ghee (Palm Oil), Sugar, Semolina & Cocoa Powder.

HB Halwani Bros Cookies, 100% All Natural Assorted Mini Mamoul Date Filled Shortbread Biscuits, Slightly Sweet, No Additives, 20ct. 7.05oz diabetic friendly, short bread, bitesize, all natural, dates

I think that the larger shortbread cookies might have been my favorite of the two.  

Orange Pekoe is in the background.  He really wanted to join the tea party.

Cup one was regular Kurdish tea - with the rock sugar sticks. 

Cup 2 we added cinnamon - with boiled sugar.

I added cinnamon to the teapot with the tea.  *I needed to check and see if I should have added it directly to the teacup.  I also wasn't sure if I should ground it or used a mortar and pestle to crush it a bit.  These are things I guessed on, lol.

*I confirmed the cinnamon does go in the teapot and steeps with the tea.

Cup 3 was cinnamon and saffron - with boiled sugar. 

I am not sure we noticed any difference with the saffron.  Next time maybe we will add 2-3 pieces in our cup.

The boiled sugar does not dissolve as quickly as sugar from the US.  Or so it appeared.  We stirred it a lot.  

Cup 4 was rose -with boiled sugar (and the other items we added previously- the cinnamon and saffron).

Cup 5 was after it all steeped together 😂😂😂- with boiled sugar. 

We both ended up liking cup 5 the best.  It seemed a really nice blend.  The tea was getting stronger and more bitter, so by cup 5 and 6 we did half tea concentrate half hot water. 

Play around with your tea, it could be fun!!  We found each cup a little different and we enjoyed adding different spices and such.  Explore the possibilities!

Let me know if you would like me to teach a Kurdish Tea Class with you and your friends.  I think you would enjoy it.  

Things I learned about Kurdish Tea while I was in Iraq:

Tea here is called Chai.  It is a black Ceylon tea with cardamon.

A teahouse is the second most visited place in Iraq, just after the mosques.

Tea is the number one drink in Iraq.

There are tea houses all over Erbil and some are for men only.  The men sit around- drink tea, play games, talk business, and politics.  

Tea houses in Iraq are called chai khana.

It is becoming more acceptable to women to be allowed in some teahouses.

Iraqis are said to drink 1 pound of tea a month.  In 2021, Iraq was the largest importers of Ceylon tea.

Tea is for rich and poor, old and young.  It is a part of the culture in Iraq.

In the 19th century the governor of Bhagdad turned all the coffee houses into tea houses.

But tea really gained it's popularity when the British army came to Iraq.

 I've heard that people will start their day with Kurdish tea too.  That if they don't they believe they will often have headaches and become dizzy.

If you buy tea along the streets here it is less and .50

Iraqi tea is served in a small cup made of glass called “Istikan” and this word means “East Tea

Can”.  In other countries, I have heard them called Tulip cups, because of the shape.

 Tea is made in a Samovar.  The bottom kettle has the hot water, the top, smaller kettle has the stronger tea concentrate.  You would fill the cup up with around 3/4 of the black tea and then the rest with hot water.  You try to fill the cup up as full as you can.

When tea is served it comes on a saucer, with the cup and a spoon.  The spoons can stick together.  If a man receives two spoons that means he will have two wives.

To cool the tea, some pour the tea in the saucer to drink it.  Some also keep the teacup in the saucer and lift the saucer up to drink from the cup, since the tea can be so hot.

There are a few things that can be added to this tea...a cinnamon stick, a rose bud, saffron, and even a  tea perfume.

Tea is served with dates, sunflower seeds, pistachios, cookies, and other sweet treats. 

The teaspoon is left in the cup when the tea is poured, if left out they think of you as inferior to them.  (I also read that you never serve the spoon in the cup.  It all depends on what part of Iraq you are from.  When served in Erbil, it always had a spoon in the cup when it was brought to me. Yet, when I went to a Kurdish home, he made the tea without the spoon in it.)

People love the clinking of the teaspoon along the teacup as the sugar is stirred in.  The clinking sounds are heard all over shops and bazars.

You will find kiosks of tea sellers on the side of streets, in the bazar, and all along the roads in villages.

Picnics always includes tea.  People will grill their food over wood and charcoal and then put the kettle on.  Some say tea over wood or charcoal is the best.

If you go to someone's house, it is rude for them not to offer tea.  And you usually will have at least 2 cups.

1 Peter 4:10-11, ESV

10 As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God's varied grace: 11 whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God; whoever serves, as one who serves by the strength that God supplies—in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.